


Prophecy of the King

by Raven1493a



Category: The Underland Chronicles - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Humor, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rats, Tags Are Hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:55:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27791869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raven1493a/pseuds/Raven1493a
Summary: I wrote this years ago thought I would share to see if I might finish it Gregor is older and ready for another adventure.
Relationships: Gregor Campbell/Luxa
Kudos: 3





	1. Prologue

{:Prologue:}  
Hi, I’m Gregor. I am 16 years old and I have long, brown hair that I keep in a ponytail. I also have brown eyes, am six feet tall, of medium built, and have a lot of scars. I know a kid that lives in New York city who has scars; me. I did not get them from the city though but from the place underneath it. That place is called the Underland and it has humans that have white skin, violet eyes, and white blond hair. There are also large versions of rats, mice, spiders, moles, fireflies, cockroaches, bats, and ants and they all could talk. I was called the Warrior at age 11 and was in five prophecies to save every race in the end. Though I have not been there for three years, I’m still in love with Luxa the queen of the humans and I miss her greatly. However, my mother had forbid me to go back there until I was finally able to convince her years later that I belong there. Now, at last, I was going to return to ask Luxa if I could live there for the rest of my life and my family was just going to have to tell people that I disappeared on the understanding that I visited them once in a while...


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

“Gregor, come down and eat!” shouted Grace, Gregor’s mother.  
“Wow, mom that is a big breakfast”, Gregor said in surprise. Grace replied, “Well it is your last day living above ground so I made your favorite foods.”  
“Thanks mom this looks great!” Gregor exclaimed as he saw the pancakes, bacon, eggs, and orange juice setting on the table. Grace smiled as she watched Gregor enjoy his breakfast; for a moment she saw her little boy again and had to stop herself from crying, he was an adult now he needed to do what he needed to do. Gregor noticed the look on his mother’s face and knew she was trying to be strong for him. When he finished he went over to his mother and hugged her saying, “Mom, thank you for understanding. I really will come and visit you guys.”  
Grace smiled and nodded, “I know Gregor, it is just this is something mothers never want to do; say good bye to their babies.”  
At that moment, both Gregor’s little sisters, Lizzie and Boots, ran into the room shouting, “Gregor we will miss you!” then hugging him. Gregor hugged them back. “I will miss you guys too but I will come to visit soon. I promise and I will bring gifts back with me.”  
Then Gregor’s father quickly came into the room grabbing him into a hug, “Gregor, I want you to remember you are not the Warrior anymore. You are just you so don’t be going around doing anything stupid. Got it?”  
Gregor rolled his eyes dramatically and said, “Got it dad. Don’t you go worrying about it. I am a big boy now.”  
Gregor’s dad ruffled his hair and pointed over to the door, “There is your bag. I packed some extra stuff in there so use them wisely. I even packed an old hand gun and some extra bullets just in case so use it carefully.”  
Gregor nodded, picked up the bag, and waved goodbye to all of them then walked out of the door. He made his way over to Central Park where one of the Underland’s entrances was. Glancing around to make sure no one saw him, he lifted up the large, flat rock that covered the entrance and slid down into the dark hole that had been revealed.  
As soon as the rock was pulled over him, darkness surrounded him in its dark embrace. He quickly pulled out his flashlight and taped it to his wrist, remembering that if you don’t have light then you might as well be dead. If you were human anyway. Well, at least there was nothing in the tunnel. Gregor had been nervous that there may have been rats for he didn’t know what had happened during his absence from the Underland.  
He walked down the tunnel for a good while, trying to find the right place to go and get into the Underland. Suddenly the ground beneath him cracked and broke. He found himself sliding down another steep tunnel, not able to stop himself at all. His long slide down felt like forever until he hit some sort of wall. Luckily his flash light was still attached to his wrist and he flipped it on to see he was in another tunnel that was so small he had to crawl on his hands and knees so he figured better to go forward then back.  
After crawling for a while, he noticed the tunnel started to get wider and wider. Finally it was wide enough to allow him to stand without any trouble, which was saying something since he was so tall. He noticed there was light up ahead so he quickly turned off his flashlight, took the gun out just in case, and slowly walked forward hoping it was not something that hated humans.  
He took a deep breath and slowly peeked around the corner to see to his horror that there was a whole bunch of ants surrounding a group of rats who were trying to protect their pups. Gregor quickly pulled out a match and some oil he had packed and yelled to the rats, “Jump onto the rocks!”  
As soon as they did, he lit the match and sprayed the oil lighting the ant and making them burn. Soon the few ants that were alive were smashed and killed by the rats. Gregor kept to the shadows, keeping his coat wrapped around him tightly and said, “How is everyone? Anyone hurt?”  
A young female rat, obviously one of the mothers, said, “One of my pups have been injured.”  
Gregor pulled out a first aid kit and stepped forward saying, “I have some healing supplies. Will you allow me to take a look at your pup?”  
The rat looked nervous but nodded, showing her consent. Gregor looked at the pup and saw that it had a large laceration on its front paw. Gregor had it swallow some pain reliever and put some ointment on its paw before wrapping it up in some bandages. Then he said, “He should be fine. I gave him some pain reliever and put some disinfectant on his wound. Make sure he doesn’t try and walk on it too much.”  
The rat mother nodded and wrapped herself around it, tenderly nuzzling it. A male rat stepped forward and snapped, “Who be you anyway?! Obviously you are a human, but you smell strange.”  
Gregor softly replied, “I am traveling to Regalia but something happened to take me off my path. Do you know what area I am in now?”  
The female rat said, “You are very far from Regalia. You are on the edge of gnawer territory. We can take you to our territory and maybe our doctor can help you out.”  
“Doctor?” Gregor asked and the male said, “Yes, our doctor. She often goes back and forth from our lands to Regalia. You might be able to go with her.”  
Gregor was still unsure but he had to go with them if he had any hopes of getting to Regalia. He did not hate rats anymore but they still made him nervous, especially after all of the wars he had fought against them. In fact, he found it strange that they had offered to bring him to their territory. He couldn’t help but wonder if it was some kind of trap.  
As they left the carnage behind, all light from the fire faded. He wasn’t too worried though, he could use echolocation the rest of the way even though he was a little rusty. He did not want to reveal that he had a flashlight; it would automatically give away that he was an Overlander.  
The rats were quite impressed with Gregor’s skills in echolocation and asked what it was like for a human. Gregor answered, “It is very hard at first, but once you have it down, it’s not so bad.”  
The rats nodded in understanding and the female cast him an almost friendly look, she said, “By the way, I am she who is called Maimrift. This is one of my adult pups,” she gestured towards the male, “Rockdash.”  
The male glared at his mother but remained silent. Maimrift continued, “These two pups here are also mine. This one is Shatterbone,” she poked one with her tail, “and the one you helped is named Flux.”  
Gregor smiled and nodded at each one, “Nice to meet you guys. I am he who is called,” he swallowed and hoped they would not slay him immediately, “Gregor.”  
The rats froze and stared at him in shock. The pups were the only ones who didn’t seem to care. The one named Flux squeaked, “Aren’t you the dead Warrior?”  
“Uh,” he grinned, “Yeah, I did kill myself.”  
Maimrift and Rockdash shared a look as the pups simultaneously squeaked, “But you’re not dead!”  
“Well…I came back.”  
At this point Rockdash exclaimed, “What are you doing back here?!”  
Gregor crossed his arms and made a show of thinking about it before saying simply, “Luxa.”  
Rockdash opened his mouth again but Maimrift whacked him with her tail saying, “Quiet!” before turning to him saying, “I understand completely Warrior. I hope that you find what your heart desires.”  
After that, the rest of the journey was pretty silent except for the young pups who would complain or start playing with each other. One of the pups decided it would be fun to play tackle the human from behind but, of course, Gregor’s natural reflexes allowed him to quickly turn around and catch the pup before it landed on him.  
The pups and rats all looked at Gregor in surprise, probably thinking the echolocation only worked forward for him, not all around.  
“Careful pup, I could have done something else. I don’t like being tackled from behind, from the front I have no problems with, but not behind. Got it?” Gregor said kindly as to not scare the pups and threaten the adult rats. The pups nodded and he put the pup down and it started to play with the other pups again.  
Gregor soon found himself warming to the group of rats. The pups eventually adored him and he they, as long as they did not try and sneak up on him. They had fun and he never said no to them when they wanted to play. Gregor liked playing with them because it reminded him of his sister Boots when she was a toddler. The adults liked Gregor because he kept the pups entertained and out of their way. He also protected them when some went hunting for food.  
During once such time, the adults who had left came back to find Gregor and the adults who had stayed tending to wounds. Nearby, a whole pile of dead ants burned. They immediately freaked out, the mothers screeching, “Where is our pups!?”  
Gregor answered, “They are over there. None of them were hurt. We destroyed the ants before they could get near any of them.”  
The rats let out a sigh of relief when they found the pups fine. Once again they found themselves indebted to him because he had saved their pups.  
Finally, they arrived in the rats lands. Gregor let out a sigh of impatience; when was he going to meet any of his old friends? Not that he didn’t like his new ones. It’s just that he missed his old ones a lot and wished to see them.  
Gregor closely followed the rats from behind, not wanting to stick out too much. The rats led him to the middle of a small rat colony when he suddenly saw his old friend Ripred.  
Ripred had not changed much. He hardly looked any older than the last time he saw him, thought Gregor. The big, gray rat was lounging on his side with an air of superiority while waving off some embarrassed looking rats. When he noticed the group that Gregor was with, he smirked and yawned.  
“Who is this you have brought me Maimrift?” Ripred asked lazily, “Is it some poor Regalian soul come to offer himself to me?”  
Rockdash snorted, “You wish Ripred! He’s not here to offer himself to anyone!”  
“Except the human queen herself,” interjected Maimrift with a smug look. Ripred’s eyes widened then narrowed, his nose twitching, “Step forward you. I’m hoping that it’s not who I think it is. I‘ve got enough trouble to deal as it is.”  
Gregor chuckled and stepped forward saying, “You haven’t changed whatsoever Ripred. Personally I’m amazed you did not recognize me and even more amazed you did not smell your favorite dish in my bag.”  
Ripred’s eyes widened again before he threw back his head letting out a loud laugh, “The Warrior! He lives again!” with a grin, he looked Gregor up and down, “So...what are you doing back down here?”  
“I couldn’t live without being in your presence,” Gregor smiled, “Long time no see you old rat.”  
Ripred got up with a grunt, “You're taller now. I can no longer call you ignorant pup…maybe I should call you overgrown, half-wit instead.”  
Gregor lifted an eyebrow and said sarcastically, “That is such an improvement Ripred. I think I will cry in happiness at such a compliment. Or maybe I'll just eat this shrimp and cream myself.”  
Ripred quickly changed his sentence to, “I mean you have grown so much! I am amazed Gregor! I will definitely take you to Regalia to see my bond!”  
Gregor smiled and pulled out the bag holding the shrimp and cream and handed it to Ripred who was practically drooling.  
“It is a pleasure doing business with you Ripred,” Gregor chuckled as Ripred tore into the food.  
Later that day Ripred and Gregor were alone together coming up with a plan on when they could leave for Regalia.  
“I would like to take you as soon as possible but right now I have promised Luxa to keep an eye on the borders. The cutters have really gotten out of control,” Ripred replied without any remorse whatsoever. Gregor sighed, “I guessed you would say that. What if you just pointed the way out for me? I am pretty sure I could get there on my own. I am much more prepared this time than when I was a kid.”  
Ripred snorted, “Arrogance comes before the fall,” he said and added, “If you are really so eager to leave me, I suggest you hitch a ride with Silva.”  
Gregor started to ask, “Who’s Silva?” when a gray rat with perpendicular scars across his face ran in shouting, “Ripred! Cutters are attacking the border again! We are fighting them off but it's a trickier group than usual!”  
Ripred stood up with a growl, “Gregor, I have a sword you can use that I have been keeping here just in case the right human showed up. Use that.”  
Gregor nodded, “Where’s the sword?”  
“My son has it.”  
Gregor blinked in shock, “What?!”  
Ripred glared and repeated what he had said, pronouncing every word very slowly as though he were talking to someone stupid, “My. Son. Hasss. It.”  
Gregor still couldn’t comprehend what he was saying, “You have a son? You?”  
Ripred actually looked insulted, “My, my, my, how surprised we look. Does it really shock you that much?”  
Gregor thought about it then nodded, crossing his arms, “Yes. Yes it does.”  
“Then get over it,” the old rat growled, “Go to him and he’ll give you the sword. I suggest you act smarter with him; he is not as patient as I am.”  
“Patient huh?” Gregor shook his head, “What’s he look like?”  
“My son is right over that ridge organizing some fresh recruits,” he gestured with his tail, “He’s a mini version of me minus my peace-making scars,” he smirked, “I have to say he is more black than gray though.”  
“Okay,” Gregor started running for the ridge then turned back to yell, “What’s his name?!”  
Ripred snorted again, “Redstrike.”  
Gregor sighed; Redstrike? That sounded an awful lot like Ripred. Rip red, red strike…oh goody. He ran over the ridge to see at least a dozen rats doing various exercises. Most were running in a circle, making leaps over rocks and other obstacles while a few were doing mock-battles. He scanned the rats, trying to find one that reminded him of Ripred when he heard a male bellow, “Is that how you run?! With your tail flipping around your hind legs like a fish?! Didn’t you learn to run properly as a pup?!”  
There he was. He turned to see a black rat standing on its hind legs, screaming at a rat almost twice its size. That had to be him. Running over to him, he tried to interrupt the rat’s scream of, “You disgust me!” with, “Ripred sent me for the sword!!”  
The rat whirled around with a glare, “And who are you?!”  
Gregor smirked and simply replied, “I am Gregor.”  
Sitting down with a broad grin, the rat looked him up and down before saying, “My, my, my. The Warrior! He lives!”  
He couldn’t help it; Ripred's son sounded just like him. He started laughing, making the rat before him growl, “What’s so funny puny human.”  
“Puny?” Gregor chuckled, “I’m taller than you.”  
The rat raised an eyebrow, “Oh yeah?” he gestured to the shamed rat behind him, “So is he. Think I care?”  
“Oh, well, you should,” Gregor could play along with this, “I’m a rager and your own father trained me.”  
The rat’s smug look disappeared and he scowled, “What did you want again?”  
Gregor could hardly believe his luck. He never could have gotten away with that had he been talking to Ripred. Maybe he hadn’t taught his son all his verbal tricks yet.  
“I need a sword,” he repeated and the rat nodded, “Oh yes. Daddy’s little treasure. I never thought he’d let it be stained with blood once again…”  
“Look,” Gregor was getting impatient, “I kinda need that sword now.”  
“Fine,” the black rat turned and looked over his shoulder, “Silvergem! Can you get dad’s sword?!”  
Silvergem? He looked to see a silver female so light, she almost look white. It startled him. She was lounging on her side with a superior look he recognized. Did this mean Ripred had had more than one kid? With a yawn, she answered with a ringing voice, “Why does he want it?!”  
“The Warrior wants it!” the black rat practically screamed, “And it has to be fast! Understand?!”  
She nodded and, surprisingly, quickly leaped up and ran off. Gregor let out another sigh; at least she knew when to act fast. From behind him, he suddenly heard Ripred’s voice yelling, “What’s taking so long Redstrike?!”  
Redstrike yelled back, “Sissy is getting it!”  
That didn’t seem to agree with Ripred, “Why aren’t you?!”  
“I’m busy!” his son yelled back and Gregor expected what happened next. Ripred suddenly bolted down the ridge and had tackled his son so fast it looked as though he had transported himself from one place to another. He watched as father and son rolled around on the ground a bit and all the surrounding rats stopped to stare.  
Finally, they stopped with Ripred on top and shoving his son’s face into the dirt demanding, “And what you do say to that?!”  
There was a short silence then a muffled, “Sorry.”  
Ripred immediately got off after whacking Redstrike with his tail one last time, “That’s what I thought you said.”  
“Don’t you two ever stop?”  
Gregor turned to see the female had returned carrying a scabbard. She didn’t look too impressed by what she had just observed. Ripred smirked and said, “At least one of my pups know what they’re doing.”  
Redstrike stood up with a glare, “I was doing exactly what you wanted me to do!”  
“Obviously not!” Ripred turned on him, “If you were doing exactly what I had wanted you to do, you would have gotten that sword yourself! Now we have wasted valuable time! Come Gregor.” he turned on him, “Grab that sword and let’s go.”  
After what he had just witnessed, Gregor didn’t hesitate. He ran to the female who handed him the sword saying, “Enjoy it,” then ran after Ripred.  
They were surprisingly close to the battlefield. Gregor was shocked to see so many ants and he muttered, “We need an exterminator…”  
The scarred gnawer who had given them the news of the ants appeared besides him saying, “Shame we’re not in the Firelands. We could burn them like last time.”  
Gregor remembered how he had dealt with the other ants and shouted, “I have oil in my bag along with matches! I will set a line while everyone keeps them busy then you will have them move really quickly out of the way while I light it.”  
Ripred looked shocked, “You actually have a plan Gregor. It seems it's true that humans get brains after puberty.”  
Gregor didn’t know if he should take that as an insult or a compliment. Before he could get back at Ripred though, Ripred had jumped into the battle with his fellow rats, passing his message on. Gregor got busy with his side of the plan, careful not to get any oil on the rats and killed some ants while he was at it. Finally he pulled out his flashlight, giving the signal. All of the rats jumped back while he lit the fire. Everyone watched as the ants burned into nothingness. Then all of the rats started to cheer in victory when the rest of the ants oddly stopped their charge and slowly retreated.  
Gregor was exhausted after the battle; it had been awhile since he had fought so much. Ripred patted him hard on the back and said, “Don’t worry, you’ll be back in shape in no time. Otherwise I will gladly eat your favorite dish on your grave when you're killed.”  
Gregor chuckled darkly and said, “Same here. Oh, and don’t forget you don’t know my favorite dish.”  
Ripred looked at him and said, “What is your favorite dish?”  
Gregor rolled his eyes and stood up, “Like I would tell you so you can torture me in the afterlife.”  
Ripred looked disappointed and stood up his tail flicking in the air, showing he was obviously annoyed. Gregor decided to ask, knowing he would probably regret it, “What’s the matter Ripred?”  
Ripred looked at him and snapped, “I liked it when you were an idiot!”  
Gregor sighed; yep, he knew he did not want to hear it, “What do you expect? For me to remain stupid for the rest of my life? I graduated early with people wanting me for field and track because of my abilities,” he stated in a matter of fact voice. With a serious expression, Ripred asked, “If life was so good up there then why did you come back?”  
Gregor found his face turning red and mumbled, “Came back to see Luxa again.”  
“What? And here I thought you came down here to be with fantastic me,” Ripred said in a mock-hurt voice.  
“Why Ripred, I didn’t know you felt that way about me. If I had known, I would have asked for your hand in marriage instead,” Gregor said oh so dramatically. Ripred snorted, “Great, now he has a sense of humor like me. I rubbed off too much on you,”  
Gregor shrugged and said, “What did you expect?”  
Ripred snorted, “Even if you had come down here for me, I am no longer available as you probably guessed.”  
“Yeah, about that,” Gregor started but Ripred interrupted him, “So I’m guessing you still want to go to Regalia as soon as possible?”  
Gregor nodded, “Yeah, can you just point me the way there?”  
Ripred sighed, “No, you won’t go on your own. I want you to take the Doctor and at least two other gnawers with you.”  
“That’s it!” Gregor exclaimed, “Who is this doctor everyone keeps on talking about?”  
“Okay, okay,” Ripred held up his paws in feigned defense, “She’s an Overlander. Like you. Only better.”  
“Oh…really now?” Gregor crossed his arms disbelievingly, “How is she better than me? I’m a Rager and I even learned some first-aid like Howard.”  
“But Silva is wonderful!”  
Gregor turned to see the scarred rat from before join them, “Really? I thought that’s what a male would say about a female he liked.”  
The rat scowled, “I’ve heard that before from, hmmm let me see, just about…everybody! Silva’s my bond! Of course I like her!”  
“Yeah? That’s like saying Ripred likes Luxa and thinks that she’s amazing,” Gregor stated and Ripred smirked, “Luxa is amazing and I do like her. I just also find her to be spoiled, foolish, rash, annoying, loud, emotional, unpredictable and, oh yes, engaged.”  
“What?!” Gregor reeled backward, “Who is he?! Is he worthy of her?! Can I kill him?!” he cried, “And how did it happen?!”  
Ripred didn’t seem impressed by his reaction, “And then the world ended for Prince Gregor and he was swallowed by his dark emotional turmoil while Ripred lived on to feast on shrimp and cream sauce.”  
“I’m serious!” yelled Gregor, “How did this happen?!”  
“I’m sorry to break it to you,” Ripred said, “But Luxa has always been engaged to Duke Snob. Apparently she never told you.”  
“Oh, he’s a snob?” Gregor smirked, “I can kill him then.”  
“Uh, no,” Ripred started walking off, “No matter how many times I’ve wished it myself. Of course, I could kill him with the excuse he was trying to defile our lovely little queen...but then I’d be even more unpopular than I already am and Luxa might have me exiled. I can’t afford that risk anymore. Shame.”  
“I don’t mind being unpopular,” Gregor muttered and Ripred laughed, “You will if you want to marry her! That would make you king. Unpopular kings tend to be overthrown.”  
Still angry, Gregor snapped, “Then why are you still around?”  
Ripred glared then snapped back, “Because of my looks of course!”  
“Ha ha,” Gregor said unenthusiastically and Ripred growled, “The scars you dimwit!”  
“Oh yes,” he grumbled, “The self-proclaimed Peace Maker who put the scar there himself.”  
Ripred’s face contorted into one of rage and he threw himself at him saying, “Shut your mouth!”  
Gregor was expecting this, had even been hoping for it, and threw himself at Ripred. They were a ball of fur and skin; punching, clawing, and kicking out their frustrations at each other. The scarred rat was watching in amazement as Gregor and Ripred cut and bruised each other, calling out terrible insults. Finally it seemed that they ran out of energy and they sat down. At first they just continue glaring at each other and then, to the rat’s amazement, they started to laugh like some heavy burden was lifted from their shoulders.  
“Ahhh…okay,” the rat mutter, “What’s so funny? Did I miss something?”  
Gregor and Ripred looked at the rat and started to laugh again. When they both eventually stopped, Ripred said, “Gregor, tell Sixclaw here that I’m going to get your traveling companions ready.”  
“Lapblood’s son?” Gregor asked and Ripred nodded, walking off while still chuckling.  
“Okay then,” Gregor looked over at the scarred rat. He still looked a bit confused at what he had just witnessed so he attempted to explain it, “How should I explain this…well, you see Sixclaw, Ripred and I have both been very stressed lately and the fight helped to relieve us of our stress. Then we laughed at each other when we realized what we did.”  
Sixclaw raised an eyebrow, “Uh huh.”  
Gregor tried to look sincere, “Really. That’s what happened.”  
Shaking his head, Sixclaw stated to no one in particular, “I am glad Silva and I never have such complicated issues.”  
“It’s a rager thing!” Gregor tried to defend himself, “We have to fight! It’s in our blood or instinct or something!”  
Sixclaw just shook his head again and Gregor gave up; he barely understood it himself.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two 

Gregor was talking to Sixclaw when Ripred appeared with a woman, two rats, and a large spotted mouse. He realized immediately that the woman was an Overlander. Her black skin was more than hint enough. She was talking to the mouse whose dark eyes darted around observantly. When its eyes landed on him, they narrowed and it grinned in a faintly familiar way. With a deep, fluid male voice, it drawled, “Well, well, well, who can this delicious morsel be?”  
Gregor stared at the mouse in shock and blurted out, “That's a rather vicious thing for a mouse to say.”  
There was a moment of tense silence before Ripred’s laughter rang out. The Overlander woman quickly covered her mouth, though if she was surprised, shocked, or just trying to cover up a smile he didn’t know. The two rats shared a look: One looking apprehensive, the other looking amused. However it was the mouse he was watching closely.  
The mouse’s dark eyes had widened then narrowed then widened again. Black and white spotted fur rose threateningly and it slowly got into a crouch hissing, “Amazing you have lived long enough to make it this deep into our territory. With a mouth like that, you should be dead. Let me remedy that for you.”  
Moving almost too fast for him to react to, the rat he had apparently just insulted feinted to one side then quickly attacked from the other. He was fast but, fortunately, Gregor was a rager or he would have not lived passed the rat‘s first strike.  
The rat decided to attack from the back and so Gregor did the famous spin that Ripred taught him. The rat was flung away so that he landed in front of the two other rats. Surprisingly, the rat didn’t attack again. He landed on his side and stayed there in a sort of lounging position that looked so…planned.  
The lounging rat smiled with a sickly sweet smile and hissed pleasantly, “This must be the famous Warrior I’ve heard so much about. The spin betrays your identity even quicker than your smell,” he looked at his claws and lightly hissed, “It’s because of you my old friend Gorger was killed and then my master the Bane after that…fortunately I’m not in the habit of holding a grudge.”  
His grin turned into a fierce frown, “And for your information, I am a rat. You may refer to me as General Forfend.”  
“You worked for Gorger and the Bane?” Gregor returned his frown, “Thanks for telling me that. Now I don’t feel so bad about thinking you were a mouse.”  
The small rat snarled, “And to think that I had thought to respect you as the Warrior. You’re nothing but an arrogant brat, just like the Regalian queen.”  
“I will act this way because I lost my close friend and bond to the Bane,” Gregor said in a dull tone. He already didn’t like this rat. However he didn’t want to be on his bad side in case he needed him in the future so he quickly added, “I will respect you for whatever battle skills you have. If we become allies in the future, I will help you but that’s all you're getting Forfend.”  
“Don’t bother,” Forfend’s eyes burned into him, “And only friends call me Forfend. You. Will. Call. Me. General,” with a contemptuous flick of his tail, he turned away. Going over to one of the other rats that was almost twice his size, he nuzzled it and said, “Farewell my love, enjoy your trip and kill the Warrior if you have the chance,” saying that, the spotted rat turned and loped off.  
“And that,” Ripred made a dramatic gesture, “Was the brilliant mind behind the Code of Claw.”  
“He what?!” shouted Gregor, “That can’t be!”  
Ripred chuckled, “Oh yes it can! He’s the one who thought of it and then promoted it for the Bane,” with a mischievous grin, he added, “I see you haven’t quite lost your touch when it comes to first impressions.”  
Gregor glared at him and opened his mouth but he was cut off by a cold female voice saying, “I believe it would be wise for us to depart now. My mate watches us from afar and will become impatient if we take too long in leaving.”  
The group all looked over to where General Forfend was indeed watching them from a distance. It made Gregor feel slightly unnerved.  
Rolling his eyes, Ripred said, “He’s too sensitive. He would always attack me whenever I mentioned his tininess as a pup.”  
For the first time the woman spoke, “I don’t blame him for being sensitive about it. I’m sure you would be too if you were the size of a large nibbler.”  
“Such a softy,” Ripred shocked Gregor by giving the woman an affectionate nuzzle, “Go on your way then. Be safe.”  
The woman beamed at him, “I’ll be perfectly safe with Coldstreak and Quickstep here.”  
Gregor look at the two rats who were both grinning in their own way. It suddenly occurred to him that all that he had been seeing with the rats was different than what he was used too. He had been traveling with them in peace, he had seen affection between mates, and now these two were looking kindly down at an Overlander. What had happened since he was gone?  
Wanting to ask Ripred, he turned towards him just in time to see the look on his face. His expression was sad as he said to the woman, “Send a Flier to me as soon as you arrive. Give me word of Ringtail and her condition.”  
Gregor stayed silent as the woman nodded with an equally saddened look, “She will have all the attention I can spare. I give you my word on that.”  
Ripred’s smile was tender as he nodded but he abruptly changed his expression upon meeting Gregor’s eyes, “I’ll meet up with you in a week. Try not to do anything rash until then,” he winked, “If you’re going to get rid of Duke What’s-His-Face, I want to be there to see it.”  
“Well, when I see him I will send you a funeral invention as soon as I get there,” Gregor said in an evil voice and then laughed. Another laugh joined his and it wasn’t Ripred’s. Glancing over at who it was, he saw it was the large female General Forfend was apparently mates with. He grinned as she caught his eye with a bright blue one, “I would love to be invited as well Warrior! Duke Marcus curls my tail.”  
“Oh, so that’s his name,” Gregor scowled, “He will not take Luxa from me. In fact, I got an idea,” Gregor said in a pleased tone “Why don’t I invite everyone who wants him dead to come watch me kill him slowly and with every historical torture known to man and rat kind alike?”  
He smiled, just imaging doing those things to this Marcus guy.  
The blue-eyed female grinned viciously and hissed, “I know some tortures that came up during the Bane’s time. King Gorger knew a bit here and there too…his father Bonecruncher though, he was known for his torture. My mother told me all about it.”  
The other rat nodded and said in a much lighter voice, “I heard that as well. However, wasn’t King Gorger the one who came up with lacerations?”  
“My mate was actually the one who introduced that form of torture to Gorger.”  
“Hm, the General’s got his claws into everything, doesn’t he?”  
Before they could get any deeper into the topic, Ripred snapped, “Alright! We all have our various problems with Dukey-wooky but you have to leave now,” he smirked, “Before Forfend has an emotional breakdown over there.”  
He gestured to where General Forfend was still watching them and Gregor could see his fur spiking up again. He couldn’t help but grin; now the rat looked much larger. Coldstreak laughed again and said, “Yes, let us go before my mate decides that I am not allowed to leave. Are we going by Purrpelt’s nest on the way Ripred?”  
Ripred nodded, “Yes you are. Now off you go!”  
Without another word, the woman leaped onto the back of Coldstreak and Quickstep surprised him by crouching beside him. It took him a moment to realize she wanted him to get on as well. Feeling awkward, he climbed onto her back. The moment he was settled, she put on a burst of speed that almost made him fall off.  
“Hold on Warrior!”  
He looked over to where the woman waved at him with a friendly grin. She rode like she was used to doing such a thing. Whatever happened to having bats to fly on?  
After he got used to Quickstep’s loping, he was able to concentrate on the scenery; not that he saw any of it. He used his echolocation as they slid through tunnels and ran beside ravines. He couldn’t help but wonder if the other Overlander had echolocation as well.  
Eventually they came out of the tunnels and were running besides the river that ran through the rat’s territory. He could feel the spray hitting his face only for a little while before they headed away from its torrential waters. After a while more, Quickstep panted, “We’re here!”  
She and Coldstreak came to a jolting halt that almost threw him off Quickstep’s back. She was polite enough not to mention this to him as he caught himself. Coldstreak trotted up to a large lump and called out, “Blackclaw! Be you there Blackclaw?!”  
There was silence in return. Quickstep snorted saying, “I know he must be here. I can smell his scent.”  
“Blackclaw!”  
Gregor heard the woman call out, “Come now! Don’t you want to come with us?! You requested it!”  
Finally there was an answer. A melodious male voice drifted out of the lump, “Yes…I am coming.”  
Gregor watched as a rat appeared out of the lump and shook out his fur, “I am ready to depart. Let us not waste time.”  
Coldstreak did not respond and they started running again. Gregor held on while trying not to make Quickstep uncomfortable. They soon entered the tunnels again and he lost track of everything. He was just beginning to wonder if they would stop to rest or where going nonstop to Regalia when Coldstreak called out, “There’s a good place up ahead! Prepare to stop there!”  
After about a minute more, the group burst out of the tunnels into a large cavern. Quickstep bounced as she stopped and Gregor couldn’t hold his balance. He fell onto the ground with a thud, “Ouch!”  
“Sorry.”  
He looked up to see that Quickstep was offering his her tail. Slightly confused, he took it and she pulled him up saying, “We’ll be resting here for some hours. Feel free to sleep at ease.”  
“What about keeping watch?” he asked, “I can do that if you want.”  
“You are not needed in that way Warrior,” Coldstreak walked over to him, “Just stay rested and do not concern yourself with such things. I need you to be ready to fight, not tired from lack of sleep.”  
Gregor frowned, “Does that mean you expect an attack?”  
Coldstreak shrugged and walked off. This did not make him feel at ease. He sighed and, besides him, Quickstep chuckled, “That means no. Do not fear Overlander, we are not ragers like you and King Ripred but you can have faith in us; we know how to keep watch.”  
“Oh,” he quickly said, “I’m not-“  
She laughed and walked away. Still frowning, he looked around. Coldstreak and Quickstep were talking together in low voices and the woman had gone over to the rat they had picked up. She whispered something to him, making him shrug and lay down, before looking over at him. He suddenly realized that she must have echolocation to know where he was.  
She walked over to him smiling and held out something to him, “Want some bread Warrior?”


End file.
